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Low-Code Farm Team
The low-code cookbook is getting a bit overstuffed. At this point, I have a Chrome tab with 120 stashed URLs for low-code candidates, all waiting to be scored and transferred to the master list. The cookbook itself features 20 new entries this week, along with over 54 in the AirTable marked as ‘Greenfield’. Greenfield is the term I use for a candidate or something I think will have value, but the signal is not yet clear.
Here is a short list of the unfiltered and groomed items. These tools are unconventional and may not be what some would consider good fits. But I see potential.
These tools give me joy to play with.
Wavemaker - This entry came from two developers in Italy over three months ago. The makers are based in India and are very focused on the legacy enterprise market. Currently, I categorize it as a low-code platform that appears promising; however, I still require hands-on access.
(Platforms are hard to assess and score.)
It does come with the expected Vendor lock-in risk. When I see platforms like this, I assign a default score of 5 for Lock-in until I find otherwise.Mercury Bank - So, a bank is a low-code candidate? Maybe. I might need to widen the definition to accommodate this. This gets into the ‘Greenfield’ queue because they are the only bank I know that gives me an API key! The only one! Their invoicing feature is a ready-made drop solution for a low-code stack that needs payment processing via API.
I think of this as a low-rent Stripe. Additionally, I coded a voice-to-invoice feature via Replit that would allow me to set up an invoice from a SMS text message or voice recording.
Not sure I need to send invoices while riding a bike, but I could.Retool.com - This tool has been in the cookbook of stack options for two years. But it has gotten lost in the mix, and I am getting early signals that It needs more attention. This tool made me cry three years ago when I discovered it.
Why sad? In my last startup, I made weekly GitHub repository commits to our homegrown Admin tools for six years. I did the math: 315 weeks of regular commits and coding, and retool could have eliminated all of that.
This insight was painful when I had it in October of 2022, right after the poop hit the startup fan. It still smarts today like a bruise that never heals.
All those lost hours, I can never get back.
Quotes from Reformed Developers
I get pushback as I share my experience with AI coding tools. Rightfully, when this much about how we plan and order our professional lives changes, then there will be unhappiness at all levels.
These are the actual SMS messages of some serious developers. They all started as AI haters. I share because I see most other developers on Github Issues screaming in mental pain over any AI intrusion into their processes.
I will not share the names to protect their code reputations 🙂
SMS from Dev: BTW, I can’t get through a coding session w/ an Ai helper. It’s changed the way I work which is to say I’m so much faster now.SMS from Dev: And I no longer have to say: You want a CRUD interface for that? Yeah, that will take me 1/2 a day, and then I need to debug that. 😂 Now it’s about 5 minutes.
You don’t like it? I’ll rip it up and start again - no worries.Insight & News
Dammmn Karen Kelly 🌈 rocks. I learn a great deal from how she approaches technical issues. She forces me out of my code brain. So, if AI is the new code compiler, the best bet is to talk to the person who utilizes AI to perform tasks that generate revenue and have an impact. 🔥
Transitioning from tech to business execution is beneficial for any developer, regardless of their experience level.This week, the Pompeii Labs team launched a new engagement tool for their agent platform: call or text. It’s called Nero. Still in beta. This feature allows an agent to join a Zoom or Google Meet as a full participant. When the agent comes online, it can tap into other agents to access emails, query my CRM, and search meeting notes.
It’s an agent’s agent? Not sure that makes sense. Right now, Karen and I are considering using Nero, assuming the codie at Pompeii can stop breaking things long enough for us to run an accelerator session to demonstrate its utility.
I am adding an agent who will utilize my LinkedIn Connections to identify individuals I have in common with other meeting attendees. I have seen a lot of agentic platforms, and more are coming but damn, I like this one.This week, I heard Vibe coding was described as “therapeutic”, allowing founders to get ideas out of their heads and into practice with less frustration.
The value is in the journey. The term (as seen in the code) originated from a joke by a developer (Andrej Karpathy). However, it fits the feel (and emotions) of building without code perfectly, utilizing the statistical value of LLM to form and reform ideas, that kind of magic.
Old Image, We are on cohort #4. Join the waitlist for more. Still got seats!
SMS from a Product + Dev: I have become immensely talented at AI vibe coding.
I build something in 6 hours that would have taken me a week or two a few years back.
There’s no way an AI could have wired it all together but it built the UI and the API for me as well as organized the database, queries, restrictions and conditions and row level security.
It made a ton of stupid mistakes. I would say my contributions came in the form of “hey, you just deleted a huge part of the UI when you were updating something unrelated” or “this doesn’t make sense for the user to have to do that many clicks to get to this one thing”.
It wrote maybe 98% of the code.I find these insights fun to hear. Because 3 months ago, I was getting gentle hate and disbelief.
Low Code 101: “Solution Lock-in Scoring”
Scoring. A cookbook with low-code options is just a pile of possibilities without some framework to distill meaning from the options. Currently, I am considering three or four scoring values that each measure a distinct aspect of a utility.
Soon, the cookbook will become semi-public, and the scores will be visible.
“Solution Lock-in” Scores - What’s the risk from 1 (low) to 5 (high) of getting stuck with a given solution? This is not a risk or concern for everyone. I have heard developers poopoo the risk. But it’s a risk, and should be part of any stack eval.
A good example of a low-code tool for this is Hubspot. In my opinion, HubSpot is not what it claims to be. It’s like an iceberg. What we see above the waterline is only a tiny fraction of its actual size and value.
It's a database with automation, admin tools, API, and notifications. Not a great database. It comes with some standard data types, i.e., tables, but supports new ad-hoc data types. When viewed in this way, its place in a low-code stack becomes easier to see.
Three times this year, I have (unwillingly) recommended this solution to a founder for their v1 technology stack. Their documentation is excellent, and the time and effort spent learning it are worth it, as it allows for speed in other areas. There is an entire ecosystem of consultants on Upwork who can drop in and provide assistance.
The Downside of Hubspot
Hubspot is expensive, and it's a publicly traded company. This means they are in the business of being sticky. This also means they have an armada of analysts and product owners who focus on providing value and retaining customers.
The risk of solution lock-in is a solid and painful 5. Once you integrate it into your technology stack, good luck trying to get it out again. You will cry and scream. This company has done a masterful job of making churn a problem that other Saas solutions have to deal with.
The Upside of Hubspot
(But! Pained expression)
A startup can bring significant value to its technology stack by looking beyond this risk and utilizing HubSpot. HubSpot boasts a staggering array of features that can significantly impact time to market and first revenue. It features an automation workflow, custom data types, forms, calendars, and more. All features speed up an initial GTM.
I have already stated that I really love and (sincerely) hate this product. At the start of the COVID pandemic, I tried very hard to remove it from our stack. I failed. HubSpot was deeply entrenched, and I would have caused more internal damage by forcing a migration.
I have learned since that experience, and I have several approaches for breaking vendor lock-in in the stacks I review. If you have a vendor or solution migration issue, DM me.
(To be fair, I still dev-hate Microsoft Teams a lot more.)
Next Week
Next week, I will cover the other three scores.
Baby steps to the different scores. Next up is focused on the tech knowledge needed to use a low-code solution.
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